Sunlife Bike Out ushers in Ironman 70.3
HUNDREDS of cyclists participated in the Sunlife Bike Out on Wednesday. The a 75km fun ride from Mactan- MandaueCebu-Talisay City backed by Sunrise Events, Inc., served as a kickoff to the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines set August 6 at Shangri- La’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapu- Lapu City, Cebu.
Local celebrities will be among the 2,600 triathletes from a record 51 countries that will see action in the grueling event. Matteo Guidicelli, Paul Jake Castillo, Bubbles Paraiso, Dyan Castillejo and Kim Atienza will be vying in the individual competitions of the 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21km run event while Piolo Pascual ( bike), Gerald Anderson ( bike), Jake Cuenca ( bike), Gretchen Fulido ( swim), Enchong Dee ( swim) and Kim Chiu ( run) likewise take a break from the numerous commitments to join in the relay team event of the top- level endurance race set to start and end at Shangrila- La Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapu- Lapu City.
Australians Tim Reed and Dimity- Lee Duke, meanwhile, banner the elite pro side which stakes a top purse of $ 5,000 each in the men’s and women’s divisions of the event that will also feature the likes of Tim Van Berkel of Australia, Mauricio Mendez of Mexico, Brent McMahon of Canada, Kiwi Cameron Brown and another Aussie ace Sam Betten, winner of the recent Regent 5150 in Subic.
Also in the fold are Braden Currie, Eddie Rawles and Callum Millward of New Zealand, David Mainwaring, Alexander Polizzi and Luke Bell of Australia, Americans Brad Williams and Iain Alexandridis, Czech Jakub Langhammer, Johan Stofberg of South Africa, Italian Jonathan Ciavatella and Eric Watson of Bahrain, all raring to beat Reed’s 3:51:46 clocking last year.
Out to crowd Duke for the women’s tiara are compatriots Jacqueline Thisleton, Alise Selsmark, Kirra Seidel, Monica Juhart and Kerry Mulholland, Hungarian Anna Eberhardt, New Zealand’s Amelia Watkinson and local bet Kim Kilgroe
Focus will also be on the IronGirl on August 4, a 5km fun run for females 12 years old and above, and the ever- popular IronKids on Aug. 5. There will also be competitions among Filipino elites, CEO tri racers and close to 2,000 age- groupers and mixed, all- male, and all- female relay participants.